Memsaab — Restaurant in Babergh

Consistently Superb Cuisine

We come to Memsaab relatively regularly, and have been doing so for some years now. We usually buy takeaways, but occasionally eat in the restaurant too. The food has always been delicious and cooked well, and the service is polite, friendly, and efficient.

After having tried other Indian restaurants in the locality, I would elect Memsaab as the best Indian restaurant in the area. Lately, I have seen and been quite concerned by a few disappointing online reviews from other diners written during the earlier months of 2023, interestingly being submitted on mobile.

We dined at Memsaab for New Year’s Eve 2023, and as well as having a very good meal, we observed other diners, and the waiting times for a few customers collecting takeaways, and noted precisely none of the problems described in the aforementioned reviews. Our meal worked out at roughly £25 each, including drinks and service (at 10%) – this restaurant offers great food at good value!

We had a very good evening with excellent food, promptly and politely served.

When we arrived, we were promptly shown to our table, noticing the manager was absent from his usual spot. The kitchen and front of house operated smoothly, and he later appeared in chef's whites, explaining he had assisted in the kitchen due to a surge in orders.

Our drinks and papadoms came very quickly, with generous quantities of four relishes.

For our meal, we ordered eight dishes, which we shared between us. The time from ordering to serving at the table was around 25 minutes (the order was freshly cooked).

We ordered a range of dishes, starting with the chicken dhansak, which was very tasty, coming with freshly cooked pilao rice. To join this, we ordered: a vegetable korma (delicious creamy sauce, with a good variety of vegetables, all gently and subtly spiced, and plenty of coconut); a chana masala (gently spicy, well-balanced flavours); onion bhajis (generously portioned, freshly cooked and pleasantly moist and crisp); saag paneer (deliciously creamy, very vegetarian friendly); brinjal bhaji (not actually on the menu, but the chef made a very decent effort, considering it was only cooked in less than half an hour). We also ordered peshwari naan, which had generous quantities of ground almonds and coconut.

As we were there, the restaurant was reasonably busy, with multiple people collecting takeaways, and many restaurant tables being occupied. There were no apparent delays in service, and people around us were notably satisfied, especially the group opposite our table.

In light of potential concerns delineated in a few reviews from earlier in the year, our visits during 2023 serve to validate Memsaab’s sterling standards in quality, service, and ambience.

I hereby warmly express my continued recommendation for Memsaab of Lavenham.

PS: a (belated) Happy New Year! As we embark on 2024, let's appreciate the hard work of restaurants and ensure that our critiques are...

So after quite some time we returned to Lavenham for a few days. Decided to take a trip down memory lane and go to Memsaab with our friends for dinner. The greeting was extremely poor and genuinely got worse for the foreseeable ! Absolutely no respect for customers which I find disgraceful ! Customers pay your wages, pay your rent, pay your utility bills, pay your suppliers and that list goes on. Never have I had an experience like this when choosing one restaurant over the many others on offer. I really suggest that the two staff/owners or whatever they were working front of house yesterday evening, seriously invest in customer service skills before people don’t return. A person above described it as a moment from faulty towers !!! I was also about to say this. But without the humour. It seemed that we were making a nuisance of ourselves for being there. We found the whole experience laughable and only saved by the amazing food we ate, once they took all the dishes back because it wasn’t our order. And made us feel it was our fault. Nothing about the experience would make me return, the food was another matter. The food was delicious so compliments to the chef ! I hope Memsaab is still there when we return, but I seriously doubt that unless there’s some customer service training ! No manners, no smiles, no thank yous, just the coldest experience I’ve ever experienced, from 2 couples wouldn’t let it spoil their evening ! In the words of Basil ….. I need...

First time visiting Memsaab. Used the take away service as unfortunately covid has shut down the restaurant side during lockdown. Firstly the place is excellently covid secure. No problems with laying or picking up the food. I ordered online and it was quick and easy. With payment of cash at the restaurant.

Extensive menu, lots of choices, well laid out and descriptive.

I ordered various dishes of lamb and chicken.

Food was excellent and delicious. Good portions. Nice cuts of meat. No fat or gristle. Good sauces. Heat description accurate. This was far from the run of the mill high street Indian takeaway. Food was flavourful, spicy and superbly cooked. I have to say this was a great experience and I can not wait to visit after lockdown.

Thank you all at Memsaab. Will definitely...